ACL Tear Greater Flint Hill, MO. ACL tears can suddenly upset your active routine and daily life. One instant you’re sprinting down the court, taking part in your favorite sport or having fun with your children, and the next instant you’re don’t know if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Flint Hill, MO, we have committed our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work with you as a team and develop tailored, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Flint Hill, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient great results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Flint Hill, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Flint Hill, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible fibrous tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee help keep your knee stable by attaching your tibia (shinbone) to your femur (thigh bone). The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, runs down the center of your knee and forms an “X” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work together to stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to bear weight and your movement will be affected. Regardless of how significant your injury, trust in the Flint Hill, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you achieve a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Flint Hill, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide annually, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that call for frequent and fast cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are due to direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your motion is obstructed just before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
• Something or someone bumping into you
• Instantly decelerating or switching direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Some examples are:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• Differences in genetics

ACL tears don’t just happen in sports, falls and work-related injuries can harm they ACL too. The elderly are also at high risk, as our bodies degenerate as we age. Women are 4-6 times more likely to suffer an ACL tear, likely owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Flint Hill, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause significant pain unless other structural damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you might have suffered an ACL tear include:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s important to see a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Flint Hill, MO to confirm your injury and come up with the treatment plan you need to recover. We offer free, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many trusted doctors in Flint Hill, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is a fundamental part of your recovery team, working closely with you and your doctors and medical providers to collaborate on your safe and efficient recovery.

ACL Tear Treatments | Flint Hill, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact your quality of life.

Immediately after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to alleviate pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and gauge the extent of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal by itself. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to get back to the activities you love. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often necessary for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients with other significant injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday activities. ACL surgery is generally done by taking a graft from another tendon — either one of yours or a deceased donor’s — and then using small incisions to attach the graft to the femur and tibia.

Once the new ligament is in place, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. After surgery, you’ll likely be given crutches so you can get around for the next few weeks, as your quadriceps muscles will have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Flint Hill, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will guide you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and effectively allow you to put weight on your knee again
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to return range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the expert Flint Hill, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without your knee buckling.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Flint Hill, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can have permanent repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Flint Hill, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear in the future. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Strengthen your core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for instance keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing what we can to make sure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Flint Hill, MO are:

• Physical Therapy Clinic
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

ACL Tear in Flint Hill, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to experience anxieties about your what your life will look like in the future after being seriously injured. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, you might be impatient to return to your active lifestyle and physical activities you value. Trust in the knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work with you to create a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to return you to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.